by: anonymous_user - 22nd February 2007

Full review

We recently went on a week long trip to Zermatt to ski the mighty Matterhorn. Being a California native, I've skied my share of mountains in Colorado, Utah, California and Whistler. I have to say that Zermatt is definitely in my top 3.
While the snow conditions were dire (along with the rest of the Alps this year) the pistes were the longest I've skied and well covered. The mountain is gigantic with skiing on both the Swiss and Italian sides. In 4 days of balls-to-the-wall skiing, we rarely touched the same pistes. If this was a normal snow season, I can't even fathom the amount of off-piste powder skiing that this place would offer. Endless glaciers, bowls and chutes that the typical European will stay away from.
My one beef is the number of gondola's and trams at the resort. It always felt like I was taking off my skis at the bottom of each run and that got pretty annoying. Plenty of t-bars too.
The town of Zermatt is fantastic with fantastic Apres-Ski and restaurants but I would be lying if I said it was cheap. The dames dressed in fur coats and streets lined with Cartier and Gucci shops does not make this place ideal for budget travellers.
Nevertheless, if you have the chance to ski Zermatt, take it. Nothing is more amazing then skiing among 14,000 ft peaks while marvelling at the mighty Matterhorn. Definitely a MUST!!